Saturday, July 6, 2013

Favorite Pic of the Day for July 7th

Above:
Antonin for Nelson and Carreras by Mark Montovio
-See More Below-

Check out today's birthday boys HERE: & HERE:

Missing Matthew


I know the season 4 premier of Downton Abbey is still months away but I am already missing Matthew. The first images of filming the new season have begun to surface and the anticipation I always felt has been replaced with indifference. Maybe the show will lure me back in but for me the main draw for me had always been the following the relationship of Matthew & Mary.


I love me some Anna, the Dowager, Lady Edith and Mrs. O'Brian (also leaving) but I am not sure they are strong enough on their own to balance out the shows main relationship which sadly is over. Still wondering what really motivated Dan Stevens from departing what is just around a 3 month a year gig which brought so much to joy to others.


Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a window cleaner!


Grime fighters dress up as superheroes to cheer up patients at a children's hospital!!!


I know this story is from last February, but when I recently saw an image posted on facebook, I knew it fit all the criteria I usually use when choosing a story.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Paradise Island: Mark Montovio for Nelson & Carreras


When I first saw these new images from Mark Montovio of Mount Photography, my mind drifted back to my summers as a kid, outside, spending hours under tree's reading comics. Archie, Richie Rich, The Family Circus, Spiderman and the Superfriends. of course Wonder Woman was a favorite, a woman holding her own, surrounded by hot buff men all of whom could not help shooting her glances at that metallic bra of hers.


Now if your wondering how I connected the female comic book superhero with Mark's glorious images of Cristian, Antonin and Sergio, just think Island. Diana Prince was born and raised on Paradise Island to a race of Amazon Warriors. Whenever this island was depicted, in print or on screen, it was always a beautiful lush, green and tropical location full of beautiful scantily clad Goddesses. Like most gay kids, the media didn't really provide fantasy's tailored for our Saturday afternoon day dreams. Most often, we were forced to improvise and switch up what was provided for the mainstream audiences and tailor it to meet our needs.


So, for me Paradise Island became a land of hundreds of nearly naked men, relaxing, horse playing and running in slow motion on the sand and through the waves. Pretty much as depicted in these shots by Mark.


In reality, Paradise Island is Cordoba Spain, but the outfits; see-through underwear, sari's and leather thongs are pretty much what I envisioned the men of the island wearing. Mark shot the images for Nelson & Carreras, a Spanish fashion and design company whose motto is Beauty & Elegance.


'I am very interested in the human form and although my work sometimes has a slant towards fashion photography I prefer working with the figure in more abstract ways thinking about the figure's relationship to space and creating dynamic representations.'


Some of you may recognize some of the models shown here, Mark has shot Cristian, Antonin and Sergio numerous times. I have been fortunate to be able to share some of those shoots in the past, one of my favorites being Expressive Masquerade last Halloween. You can check out those previous posts on FH HERE:





The Cruelty Continuum

Cowboy, Drew and Jase

Cruelty is an interesting thing. Is it wrong, or is it just wrong when the person yielding it out is disliked. I am not sure why exactly, but this reason, journalists and the viewing public seem to have gotten on a tall self high horse about the cruelty going on in the Big Brother house. Could be on the heels of the Paula Deen drama, but I am not exactly sure why this year people seem to think the meanness is any worse than every other year.

Wil

I don’t personally rate cruelty on a scale; any and all cruelty is something I loath. Calling someone a nigger or a faggot is beyond vile. It usually speaks to deep seated bigotry within the person saying it, ignorance and self hate. Given Big Brother is a television show with 24 hour feeds, it also speaks to a level of stupidity.

Howie and James

I don’t condone or support the use of either of the words above. I also however, don’t distinguish them as any different as any of the other hundreds of words people use to hurt another human. Stupid, fat, loser, ugly, homely can be equally as harmful depending on the confidence level of those hearing them. I under stand ‘stupid’ may be seen as an individual insult, where as faggot defines a large group but does that really matter? Cruelty is all about the intention of the spreader. If their intent is to belittle, humiliate or hurt the receiver, does it really matter in what form it leaves their lips?

(l-r) Jeff, Jordan, Jess and Braden.

Big Brother is all about getting an advantage, many, in fact almost everyone, who has entered that house, has at one time or another attempted to get some sort of advantage by getting the better of another in the house. It is a game, and that is part of what we expect to happen. The house guests can get mean and the meaner they get, the more popular they often become.

David

One of the cruelest people to play the game was in my opinion Evil Dick Donato. He carefully chose, stalked, harassed, bullied and was relentless in his cruelty towards his victims. His victims by the way were always the wounded antelope, never someone strong, who would fight back, but a woman, alone and ostracised from the rest of those left in the house. It was truly disgusting to watch and more disgusting to see he was hailed as some sort of anti-hero. I had the live feeds during Evil Dick’s season, but the level of cruelty led me to never again subject myself to such garbage.

Jeremy

There are many people outraged at the actions of some of the current crop of hamsters, some of whom, have in the past, applauded equally disgusting behaviour in others. Are racist, homophobic comments crossing a line? Damn right they do, but faggot is not especially insulting to me because I am gay, it is insulting to me because of motive behind why it used. It is ridiculous to me the outrage and media attention the show is getting this year. Some people are glued to the live feeds to report the latest racial slur coming out of the models and other house guest mouths. If people are really so offended, the easiest answer is to turn off those life feeds and stop watching the show all together. But that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun now would it….